LIVE REVIEW: Gold Class + Straight Arrows + You Beauty @ Plan B, Sydney (26/08/16)
Red Bull continue their support of local music with this sponsored show curated by the good folk at I OH YOU. It was a super low door price and first in first served which ensured punters were queuing at the door early. You Beauty had a false start to their set with guitar amp issues causing a minor delay before they returned to the cramped … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Gold Class + Straight Arrows + You Beauty @ Plan B, Sydney (26/08/16)
NEW MUSIC: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jesus Alone
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with their new LP Skeleton Tree next Friday (Sept 9th) and a feature length film Once More With Feeling screening in theatres for on night only on Sept 8th. Here’s Jesus Alone, the first taste of the dark, atmospheric new album – no doubt deeply affected and informed by the tragic death of Cave’s son. Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Jesus Alone
NEW MUSIC: Quivers – Pigeons
Originally hailing from Hobart Tasmania, Quivers are now based in Melbourne and have a new cassette/download album out called We’ll Go Riding on the Hearses. Their bio name-checks Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young, The Triffids, The Chills, Twerps and Courtney Barnett which is a mighty fine barrel of sounds from which to draw from in our opinion. On the first single Pigeons they nail a swaying melancholic jangle, … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Quivers – Pigeons
LIVE REVIEW: Witch Hats, The Laurels, Terza Madre, Melbourne Cans @ Red Rattler Theatre, Sydney (19/08/16)
Melbourne Cans made the trip up to Sydney with their soulful, shuffling and shaking sound. There was a lo-fi backbeat to their songs, somewhere between the 80s Postcard Records sound and a woollier Royal Headache. Keyboards took the songs out of straight strum and sing territory, adding a psychedelic feel which worked well. Terza Madre have been gathering a slow buzz and reputation. They are … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Witch Hats, The Laurels, Terza Madre, Melbourne Cans @ Red Rattler Theatre, Sydney (19/08/16)
LIVE REVIEW: Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos @ Factory Theatre, Sydney (12/08/16)
As far as icons go in rock ’n’ roll, Peter Garrett is one of the most distinctive. That inconceivably long-limbed physique, pronounced cheekbones and pale, bald head. The jerky, flailing movements and that authoritative bark and howl. With an extended absence from the live stage the audience could be forgiven for forgetting how commanding a stage presence the man has, until he strides out and … Continue reading LIVE REVIEW: Peter Garrett & The Alter Egos @ Factory Theatre, Sydney (12/08/16)
SONIC KICKS: Witch Hats
Witch Hats have a few very good albums under the collective belt but their latest, Deliverance, is hands down the best thing they’ve done. It’s a blistering set of lurching rock ‘n’ roll and in our review we said “They’re firmly in the realm of The Clash, The Drones and The Gun Club yet they’ve dug their own hook-laden hole and decorated it with all … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Witch Hats
NEW MUSIC: The Lemon Twigs – These Words
The Lemon Twigs are the brothers Brian (19) and Michael (17) D’Addario from Long Island who I came across online a month or two ago. They caught my attention with this song These Words and another single As Long As We’re Together. Madcap technicolour pop sounds by the pair who write and play everything on their recordings. I’ve been digging the glam, baroque-pop sound of others like Kyle Craft of late and these guys … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Lemon Twigs – These Words
NEW MUSIC: Lambchop –The Hustle
Lambchop have been fairly quiet of late with their last LP (Mr. M) coming out in 2012. In the intervening years the band, among other things, performed their landmark album Nixon in full and head honcho Kurt Wagner released an electronic album (The Diet) under the name HeCTA with Lambchop members Ryan Norris and Scott Martin in 2015. They’ve now announced that a brand new Lambchop LP … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: Lambchop –The Hustle
SONIC KICKS: Show Me Where It Hurts
Show Me Where It Hurts are a Rhodes electric piano, drums and vocals duo from Auckland, New Zealand. Both musicians have been key players on the Auckland scene for the last two decades with Josh Hetherington fronting Thorazine Shuffle and Ronny Haynes drumming with bands such as Pash and Fagan And The People. The pair have just released their debut self-titled EP (stream/buy below) which follows … Continue reading SONIC KICKS: Show Me Where It Hurts
NEW MUSIC: The Tambourine Girls – The Tambourine Girl
The Tambourine Girls feature 3 ex-members of Sydney band Deep Sea Arcade who are now forging their own winding path through the outer reaches of garage-pop and psychedelia. They’ve just released the catchy and near-eponymous new single ‘The Tambourine Girl’, with the clip below. Recorded with producer Tim Whitten (Powderfinger, The Go-Betweens, Hoodoo Gurus), the song itself is captivating, evocative in its execution encompassing the mythology … Continue reading NEW MUSIC: The Tambourine Girls – The Tambourine Girl
INTERVIEW: Bryan Estepa
Bryan Estepa has embraced fatherhood, is approaching middle-age, and now, five albums into his solo career, he finds those life events being reflected in his songwriting and approach to the music business. On the day of his launch gig for his new album Every Little Thing, Estepa is surprisingly calm, even when having to be interviewed via video in his car as he momentarily escapes … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Bryan Estepa
EP REVIEW: Sere – Sere
Sere hit the ground running on their debut self-titled release. It’s a three track EP but it could easily be considered a mini album with its 24 minute runtime and the varied terrain they cover. The doom quota is high from the Auckland quartet yet never in a super-serious, studied manner. These guys can hammer down but they also show a desire to expand the … Continue reading EP REVIEW: Sere – Sere
Doubtful Sounds 